Curious
what this mixology guru rates as the best Cosmopolitan ever?
THE BEST COSMOPOLITAN EVER
In a mixing glass:
1/4 teaspoon super-fine sugar
(or 1 sugar cube)
Fresh juice of 1/2 medium
lime (1/2 ounce)
Stir or muddle for five
seconds
Fill glass with ice
3 1/2 ounces premium vodka
Dash of premium orange
liqueur
Dash of cranberry juice
Shake until sugar is all
dissolved
Strain into a Martini shell
Garnish with a lime.
Promoting
this as a Cosmopolitan, no less the best Cosmopolitan recipe ever, is a
travesty. To begin with, unless it is being billed as some creative variation
of the cocktail, the famed Cosmopolitan is made with citrus-infused vodka such
as Absolut Citron. A mere dash of orange liqueur and cranberry juice? No,
minimally the drink calls for a 1/2 ounce of these modifiers, for an
approximate ratio of one part orange liqueur, one part cranberry juice, one
part lime juice to 3 parts citrus vodka. If a dash equates to a little less
than a 1/4 ounce, then this recipe calls for 14 parts vodka, 1 part orange
liqueur, 1 part cranberry and one part lime juice. Can that still be called a
Cosmo?
Also,
hasn't this guy heard of simple syrup? And what's with "muddle for five
seconds" business? When did we start timing how long to muddle ingredients?
Isn't it more a matter of ensuring that the ingredients have been thoroughly
muddled (crushed)?
But
wait, there's more. The sage Mr. Cunningham then provides us with another
prominently featured recipe entitled, "The Best Margarita Ever."
THE BEST MARGARITA EVER
In a mixing glass:
1/2 teaspoon super-fine sugar
(or 2 sugar cubes)
Fresh juice of 1 medium lime
(1 ounce)
Stir or muddle for five
seconds
Fill glass with ice
2 1/2 ounces premium tequila
1/2 ounce premium orange
liqueur
Shake
The
author claims that "If you get a Margarita of this quality to your customers'
lips, you very well may ruin them for anybody else's Margarita." Not likely.
Mr.
Cunningham, there are many ways to gain a reputation, publishing seriously
flawed drinks recipes will garner you only notoriety. If celebrated mixologists
the likes of Gary Regan, Tony Abou-Ganim, Dale DeGroff, Audrey Saunders,
Francesco LaFranconi, Dave Wondrich, Richard Carlton Hacker, or other prominent
spirits authors get wind of your writings, I strongly suggest that watch your
back during recess.
My
advice is to attend bartending school.
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